Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea

604 Pages·2000·14.677 MB·English

by  Max Liniger-Goumaz

Historical Dictionary of
Equatorial Guinea
Third Edition
Max Liniger-Goumaz
African Historical Dictionaries, No. 21
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland, and London
2000
SCARECROWP RESS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone
Kent CT20 2DN, England
Copyright© 2000 by Max Liniger-Goumaz
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Liniger-Goumaz, Max.
Historical dictionary of Equatorial Guinea I /Max Liniger-Goumaz. - 3rd ed.
p. cm. - (African historical dictionaries ; no. 21)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8108-3394-8 (alk. paper)
I. Equatorial Guinea-,!:1-ilt~~-Dictionaries. I. Title. II. Series.
' I '., · 1·' ~'I. c_:
DT620. I 5 L57 2000 //~1/ .
967.18-dc2 I m~~-~. 1,·.i:(r,P,>. ;~.- ,, 0lz>
ii) -;.._,:. ,-
00-059546
El""~e
pap~ used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American N~t1onal_ Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of
Paper for Pnnt~ Library Materials, ANSI/NISO 239.48-1992.
Manufactured m the United States of America.
Editor's Foreword
ix
Acknowledgments
xi
A Note on Place Names
xiii
Acronyms and Abbreviations
xv
Chronology of Major Events
XIX
Introduction
The Dictionary
17
Bibliography
505
Introductory Notes 505
General 511
Cultural 516
Economic 522
Political 532
Historical 541
Scientific 553
Social 561
About the Author
569
•!• EDITOR'SF OREWORD• !•
Few of Africa's many new nations are as completely unknown in most circles,
including even those which are generally familiar with Africa, as Equatorial
Guinea. Its origin in the more restricted and less penetrable colonial empire of
Spain is partly at fault. More so, unfortunately, is the fact that not long after
becoming independent the country was bottled up by its new rulers, most foreign
ers were encouraged to leave or were expelled, and few people were let in. The
reasons for this are not hard to find and, as in the case of Libya, Rwanda, and some
others which avoid inquisitive eyes, they reside largely in the regimes and leaders.
Equatorial Guinea, however, was far from poorly endowed upon independence
in 1968 and showed signs of joining the African community as a reasonably
prosperous and successful member. Its economy, although modest, had a good
foundation. Its elite, although small, was well trained. Some of its leaders showed
promise. Today, over thirty years later, there is little evidence of this promise. The
economy is decaying, education has fallen off, and most serious of all, many of
the intellectual and political elite have been jailed, executed, or gone into voluntary
exile. The Macias regime was strong enough to withstand the few attacks that were
made on it; for no one showed any particular concern. After the overthrow of this
regime by his nephew, Obiang Nguema, the Nguemist regime lived on unabashed,
using the same team to carry out the same policies. Equatorial Guinea remains one
of the least visited countries on the African continent despite the initiation of oil
production by American companies.
We are thus particularly grateful to the author of this dictionary both for
providing extremely hard-to-find information and for showing concern for what
has happened. Nowhere in the English-language literature and scarcely even in
Spanish sources could one find a more comprehensive guide to Equatorial Guinea.
There is certainly no more complete "who's who," although sadly enough many
of the figures are no longer alive. And finally the only other good bibliography is
the one by the author of this book himself. Dr. Max Liniger-Goumaz, an interna
tional expert and consultant on Africa, who has worked on numerous assignments
all over the continent since 1962, is also a writer on African and European issues
and has recently completed a ten-volume general bibliography on Equatorial
Guinea in Spanish for the Swiss National Commission for UNESCO and the
Editions du Temps (Geneva). He is also a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology and the School of Economics and Business Administration in
Lausanne, Switzerland, and was recently named an honorary member of the
Spanish Association of Africanism. The present dictionary, giving the essential
background information, will go far toward filling the huge gaps that exist in our
knowledge of probably the least-known African state.
Jon W oronoff
Series Editor
I am indebted to various persons whose help was indispensable in researching,
compiling, and checking the information presented here. Many Equato-Guineans
living in the country or refugiated abroad have shared their knowledge of the
country, its peoples, and recent events, but because of the present political situation
in their country, they cannot be named.
It is unfortunate that the internal situation of Equatorial Guinea impeded
normal research in the country; as a consequence, some distortions may unavoid
ably have escaped my notice.
I owe special gratitude to Mrs. Re'sy Oguey-Frommes, who kindly read and
criticized the first manuscript, to Professor John Wood, an Africanist well ac
quainted with Equatorial Guinea, for his valuable advice as to both form and
content of the second edition, and to Mrs. Ranganayaki Venugopal and Fabienne
Trippini Pagano for this third edition.
Finally, this book would not exist without the solicitude of my family, both
during our stay in Equatorial Guinea and while this information was collected.
Max Liniger-Goumaz
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne
School of Economics and Business Administration, Lausanne
•!•A NOTE ON PLACEN AMES •!•
At the August 1973 Congress of the Partido Unico Nacional de Trabajadores
(PUNT), one year after President Macias Nguema Biyogo appointed himself
"President for Life" and "Tireless and Unique Miracle of Equatorial Guinea,"
various place names were changed. For the continental province of Rio Muni
occupied by Spain in 1926 and therefore exposed to little Spanish impact-only
the name of Rfo Benito has been changed, to Mbini; the people of the town of Rfo
Benito were most atrociously massacred by Macias Nguema. Macias Nguema
tried especially to change the names of the Insular Province composed of the two
islands of Fernando Po and Annob6n, without consulting the Bubi, Creoles, and
Ambu populations concerned. The most important changes are the following:
Fernando Po renamed Madas Nguema Biyogo Island after the dictator
Macfas Nguema, even though he had no ethnic connection
with the island or its inhabitants. In 1979 Obiang N guema
renamed it Bioko.
San Fernando renamed Ela Nguema after Macfas Nguema's nephew who
was his private secretary and later aide-de-camp. This
suburb of Santa Isabel was absorbed into the capital in 1979.
Santa Isabel renamed Malabo (named after the Bubi king, 1904-1937),
accomplice of the Spanish occupation, capital.
San Carlos renamed Luba (named after the Bubi chief who fought the
excesses of Spanish occupation), town in western Fernando
Po.
Concepcion renamed Riaba (named after a Bubi chief), town in eastern
Fernando Po.
Punta Fernanda renamed Punta de la Unidad Africana (renamed at the very
time when the Organization of African Unity [OAU] was
virtually expelled), easternmost tip of the sunken crater
around which Santa Isabel is built.
A typical example of the Nguemist orientation of these name changes is that
of Annob6n (island), which was supposed to become "Pagalu," which in the local
Portuguese creole (ambu) means "Papa Galo," or Father Cock, the name given to
Macias Nguema after his 1968 presidential campaign during which he had adopted
the rooster as a symbol. This new name came at the time when Macias Nguema
refused international assistance to save a large part of the island's population
stricken with cholera; the remaining inhabitants were later deported into forced
labor in the cocoa plantations of Fernando Po (or "Macias Nguema"or "Bioko")
that had been abandoned by the Nigerian agricultural workers repatriated from
xivI •:•A NOTEO NP LACEN AMES•: •
EquatoriGalu inebay t heirg overnmeInnt .1 979t,h ei slanderfso rcedth eO biang
Nguemrae gimteo r evertto t hen ameA nnob6n.
Thet oponymfiacn tasieosf 1973w ereu nanimousrleyj ectedb y the 110,000
EquatoriGalu ineaenx iles(t het otali ntelligentsoiaf the countryw) ho,b efore
amendinagn yo f theg oalsr eachedat independenccea,l ledf or a democratic
consultatiiomn,p ossibilnet hep resenttr agics ituation.
•!• ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS •!•
Also see entry for political parties for additional acronyms and abbreviations.
ADB African Development Bank
ADP Alianza Democratica Progresista (Democratic Progressive
Alliance)
Al Amnesty International
AIF African Investment Fund
ALENA Compafifa Nacional de Colonizaci6n Africana
AN ALI GE Acci6n Nacional de Liberaci6n de Guinea Ecuatorial
ANRD Alianza Nacional para la Restauraci6n Democratica
(National Alliance for Democratic Restoration)
AP Acci6n Popular, Alianza Popular
ASEA Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency
ASODAGE Asociaci6n de Amigos de Guinea Ecuatorial
ASODEGUE Asociaci6n para la Solidaridad Democratica con Guinea
Ecuatorial
BAD EA Arab Bank for the Economic Development of Africa
BADEAC Banco de Desarrollo de los Estados de Africa Central
BEAC Banque des Etats de I' Afrique centrale (franc zone) (Bank
of Central African States)
BEAO Bank of the West African States
BIAO International Bank of West Africa
BNDD Banco Nacional de Dep6sito y Desarrollo
BRGM Bureau de Recherches geologiques et minieres (France)
CAHIS Circulo Afro-Hispano
CCCE Cairsse centrale de cooperation economiques (France)
CCDC Caisse centrale de depot et de consignation (France)
CDE Centro de Desarrollo de la Educaci6n
CEGUI Compafifa Espafiola de! Golfo de Guinea
CEIA Comunidad de Espafioles con Intereses en Africa
CEMAC Communaute Economique et monetaire d' Afrique centrale
CFA African Financial Community (France oriented)
CFAO Compagnie Fran~aise de I' Afrique Occidentale
CICIBA Centre International des Civilisations Bantu, Libreville
(Gabon)
CIPSA Compafifa Iberica de Prospecci6n, S.A.
CLD Liberal Democratic Convergency
CMS Consjo Militar Supremo (Supreme Military Council)
. • ONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS•:•
XVI I •••A CR
Congreso Nacional de los Pueblos de Guinea E
CNPGE
(National Peoples Congress of Equatorial ~U~toriaJ
Cruzada Nacional de Liberaci6n de la Guinea E Utnea)
CNLGE
Colonizadora de la G um· ea C ontm· ental, S.A. cuator 1· aJ
COGV ISA
COMAG E Compafiia Maritima de Guinea Ecuatorial (Nav· .
Company of Equatorial Guinea) •gation
CPDS Convergencia para la Democracia Social (Conver e
Social Democracy) g ncy for
CSCE Conference for Security and Cooperation in Euro
. ID ..:. pe
CSD Coalici6n Socia emocfottca
CSDP Convergencia Social Democrata y Popular (Social D
cratic and Popular Convergency) emo.
EC European Community
ECA Economic Commission for Africa (UN)
EDF European Development Fund
EGA Sociedad Ecuato-Guineana de Aviaci6n
ENPGE Empreosa Nacional de Peasca de Guinea Ecuatorial
(National Fishing Company of EG)
EP European Parliament
EU European Union
FAC Fonds d'aide et de cooperation (France)
FAM Frente Anti-Macias
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FC Football Club (soccer)
FCFA Franc of the African Financial Community (French franc
zone)
FOR Fuerza Democratica Republicana
FERBUBLANC Fernandino--B ubi--B lancos
FERE Federaci6n Espafiola de Religiosos de Ensefianza
FF French Franc
FIEU Fonds International d'Echanges Universitaires
FIN GUINEA Sociedad Financiera de Guinea
FRELIGE Frente de Liberaci6n de Guinea Ecuatorial
FRELINAGE Frente de Liberaci6n del Pueblo Guineano
FRENAPO Frente Nacional y Popular de Liberaci6n de Guinea
Ecuatorial
GEMS A
Joint Spanish-Guinean Mining Company Limited
GEPSA
Joint Spanish-Guinean Petroleum Company Limited
IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(World Bank)
ICJ
International Commission of Jurists
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
IDA
International Development Agency